Modnath Dhakal

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc with the life of people. It has forced them to change their life style. As part of drastic alteration in their daily life, many have shifted to cycling as an alternative to riding two- or four wheelers. This is indeed a positive thing inspired by the pandemic. The disease has demanded that the people lead an active life to remain fit and healthy, and the government apply odd-even rule to ease the vehicular movement so that the crowd thins out in the streets. This has made the bicycle as a natural choice for the office-goers because it an easy and inexpensive alternative. Some companies had enthusiastically announced to promote cycling at least a day in a week in the past but they couldn't live up to their pledge as the hectic traffic and lack of cycle lane discouraged it. But as the traffic went as low as half of the normal times, the riders found it comparatively easy and safe to paddling across the town on the two-wheelers without engines!

Global attention
Cycling has drawn a global attraction in the wake of coronavirus flare-up with some of the European cities like Paris witnessing about 50 per cent rise in the use of bicycles and many cities investing in the construction of bicycle tracks and parking, and providing subsidies for this. Nepal should unveil a subsidy policy to promote the use of green and healthy means of transportation that is cost-effective, requires only smaller spaces for parking and is less prone to accidents. Cycling has become a good option to stay healthy. Physically fit population can contribute to the betterment of the family as well as to safer environment. They also save foreign reserves by reducing the import of fossil fuel and costly motorbikes.
Cycling has other benefits, too. It saves time. While the traffic congestion takes you more than half an hour to travel 5-8 km distance in a car or on a motorbike, you can evade such jams by taking alternative routes or riding through the pavements, if needed. You will be surprised that it would take less time to reach your destination on bicycle than in four-wheeler or motorbike. If you cycle more than five kilometres a day, you can escape your morning walk or jogging, and use that time for other productive and creative works.
These benefits are enough to impel the government to devise a policy to provide subsidy to purchase or repair bicycles so that the cyclists are motivated to increase its use and the non-users switch to it. Such subsidy can be provided in cash while purchasing a bicycle or by offering free services like overhauling and changing tyres. Many European countries and the USA are implementing such incentives or did so in the past.
The European Commission has also suggested providing financial benefits or subsiding the untaxed purchase of the bicycle. France has announced a scheme of 20 million Euro in association with the Federation of Bicycle Users to provide repairing costs up to 50 Euros at designated mechanics. It has registered 3,000 mechanics to deliver the service. Likewise, Italy recently launched a policy to provide 500 Euros to the people living in the cities of more than 5,000 inhabitants to buy a new bicycle or e-scooter. Other countries have enacted legislation to promote and motivate cycling.
Without proper infrastructure, such facilities can be less effective. Therefore, enough attention should be given to the creation of well-developed cycling track, parking and resting places. More than a dozen European cities, like Brussels and Milan, have utilised the lockdown to create cycling track, some of them being longer than 40 km while most of the countries in Europe have programmes to promote cycling through monetary or other forms of incentives.

Incentives
Private companies can play an instrumental in promoting the use of bicycles. Instead of conducting less-effective trainings and orientations on environmental awareness, providing direct monetary incentives to the employees to use clean commuting means can be more effective. The topography of the Kathmandu Valley demands mountain bikes but people with the low-paid jobs can't afford them. Thus, the private companies can launch loan or financing schemes for the purchase of bicycles.
Recently, Mega Bank and Nabil Bank have announced schemes to finance bicycles over 12 and 18 months' period at zero interest. Other banks should follow this initiative. Colleges and universities can also promote bicycle use with some discounts in tuition fee or additional facilities to the bicycle users. Harvard University has already implemented such scheme which provides students commuting by bicycles reimbursement of up to 30 dollars a month.

(Dhakal is a journalist at the TRN. @ModDhakal)